Tales of Skyrim: Mama and Papa
by NOVA47
Summary: The Dragon born has left to slay Alduin, but left Lydia behind so she could protect his adopted daughter Lucia. Lucia eagerly awaits the return of her papa, so she can have both a mama and papa. They don't know it yet, but she is going to allow them to let their feelings be known.


Tales of Skyrim: Mama and Papa

"… The End. Alright, little one, time for bed." The child in Lydia's arms protested. "Aww… just one more story mama, please?" Lydia chuckled, little Lucia loved to hear the stories, and Lydia would have gladly read another story, but she was tired herself, so she gave Lucia a kiss on the head and tucked her into bed. "Mama?" Lucia asked with a voice that was slowly fading to sleep. "Yes, little one?" Lucia yawned before asking her question, "When will papa get home, I really miss him." Lydia's heart skipped a beat on the mention of her thane, she had hoped that Lucia wouldn't be bothered his lengthy absence. "He'll be back soon little one. Now, get to sleep." Lucia yawned again and snuggled up to her covers before drifting off to sleep. Lydia got in bed herself, and tried to keep the thoughts of her thane out of her mind. After all, he had told her to watch over Lucia while he left on his journey to defeat Alduin, and at the same time told her that she didn't fight well enough to accompany him. Her mind dwindled on what would happen when he came home to a Lucia who expected the two adults to be in love. What if he came home with another woman? What would happen to Lucia and herself? Lucia only called her mama because Lydia had been taking care of her for nearly six months, and the little girl thought of her as a mother. Her mind rapidly explored every bad situation imaginable, saving no time for the possible good outcomes.

A thunderstorm came in quickly and drowned out Lydia's thoughts, and as she listened she thought she could hear voices, they seemed loud, but distant, as if they were coming from the Throat of the World. Lydia began to fade into the comfort of a deep and relaxing sleep. The thunderstorm faded from her realization just as it began to pick up.

Three days. Three long, boring and unnerving days. That's how long the storm lasted, all the while Lydia and Lucia stayed warm by the fire while reading Lucia's favorite books and sleeping. On the third day of the storm, after Lucia was set down in her small bed, Lydia began thinking about her thane once again, what would happen when he got back… if he got back? Lydia was dragged back into reality by a powerful knocking at the door. Lost wondering who would come to the house in the middle of such a terrible storm, she forgot to open the door until the knocking began again. Nearly jumping off her bed, she quickly got up and grabbed her sword to ready herself for a possible bandit. When she opened the door a figure was standing in the doorway, and a flash of lightning showed his silhouette, a large and armored man. He strode past Lydia and into the small house. "Do you need something?" Lydia asked her confusion and fear in her voice. "Something wrong Lydia?" the man asked, his voice was rough, broken almost, as if he had been shouting for days and his voice had diminished to nothing. "Who are you?" Lydia's voice was swimming in fear at this point.

The man stepped up to one of two mannequins in the house, the one he looked at was empty, the one next to it held the armor Lydia's thane had crafted out of dragon bones and scales for her. The man took off his chest plate and laid it at the feet of the mannequin, it was quickly followed by the rest of his armor, and lastly his helmet. Turning around the man showed his face to Lydia, it was her thane. Stumbling for words she just ended up gasping "M-My-My Thane." She bowed down as respectfully as she could in her nightclothes.

Her thane let out a low chuckle then stepped up to her and wrapped her in a comforting embrace, Lydia's mind went blank from shock as she timidly returned the welcoming hug. She felt herself getting lost in all the warm feeling of the embrace, which he broke out of quickly, and put his hands on her shoulders. She barely heard him tell her "Thank you Lydia, you are the best friend and housecarl I could ever have wanted, thank you for protecting Lucia, and yourself." Lydia felt her cheeks turn a deep red, as she barely managed "Your w-welcome m-my th-thane." He smiled at her and said, "Lydia come on now my name is Samuel not 'My Thane,' that just makes me sound old and different, as if I weren't human. Now, you should get to bed, you look awfully tired."

Lydia woke up in the bed, fully rested for the first time in a few months, her thane had been gone for so long, then had returned in the middle of a storm that had lasted for days. Her attention was then brought to a small voice that was stumbling through what she recognized as Lucia's favorite story. Lydia turned toward the small fireplace and smiled, he was sitting there helping her read the story herself, she could read several words but still needed to improve. Lydia stood up and walked over to them, then sat next to Lucia, across from Samuel. Lucia didn't notice Lydia until she felt her arm embrace her.

Lucia was excited, now she had a mama and a papa at the same time! She felt safe, comfortable and welcome with both their arms wrapped around her as she tried to read. She began to wonder if her parents were in love yet, or if they would fall in love, like some of her stories. They must have noticed she stopped reading for a little too long, because her papa asked "What's wrong little cub?" His voice was still scratchy-sounding, but it was getting better. "Are you and mama in love, like in some of my stories about heroes?" Lucia looked up at both of them as they looked at her, then each other, then back to her. "Do you think we should be in love, little cub?" She thought a moment before telling them, "I just thought that maybe it would be like my stories because the heroes always fall in love and then become a mama or a papa, and only papa was here at first, then mama came when he left, so I thought you might be in love because you're my mama and papa, or you might fall in love because your heroes." A thought soon popped into her head, "Papa have you ever kissed mama? That would mean you're in love." He looked at her, bewildered, and then looked over to Lydia who blushed a deep red and quickly looked away. "Uh… well-I well umm…" Lucia looked at her papa then asked a new, but similar question, "What's a kiss anyway?" He began to blush as well, and Lucia was very confused. "Why are both your cheeks turning red, are you cold?" Lucia asked in a genuinely confused and concerned for her parents

Lydia looked back at her thane, who was blushing almost as much as she thought she was. He looked up at her and the red intensified, making her blush more as well, she wanted to hide her face again, but she just kept looking into his eyes, "No, little cub, we uh… haven't kissed yet and a kiss… a kiss is when… umm… Lydia… well-uh… should we uh… maybe… um, uh… show her?" Lydia's heart nearly stopped, was he offering to kiss her? "Sh-sh-sure…" was all she could get out through her closed throat, then Lucia got up walked a few feet away then laid down with her head in her hands, elbows on the floor and legs in the air, looking at them. A few moments later she asked "Are you going to show me?" Lydia looked at Samuel who had reached a very rosy red, and looked terrified and nervous. Lydia began to think that he didn't want to kiss her, and was about to move away, when he scooted right next to her, and slowly and carefully, as if she might break if he wasn't gentle, wrapped his arms around her and waited for her to do the same. She snapped out of her daze and wrapped her arms around his neck, in the same slow, deliberate manner, and looked into his eyes, as they slowly began to close the distance between their faces. Her face on fire, and his as well from what she could see, she rested her forehead against his and began to shake from the amount of emotions she felt. Slowly moving in as she closed her eyes and tilted her head, she waited for the moment his lips would touch hers.

Samuel closed the final distance between his lips and those of his housecarl, friend, and in the eyes of Lucia, lover, Lydia. His lips lightly touched hers and he began to shake from it, he was afraid to continue, he didn't know if she really loved him, or if it was only what Lucia thought it should be like. He had grown to care for her after his long absence, he had missed her every aspect, especially her smile, and had been formulating plans to tell her, none of which truly satisfied him. Then Lucia had come in with her innocent curiosity, and accomplished what he never could, he had set him up in the perfect position to tell Lydia everything. His mind and heart were racing, he felt like he had run from a giant all the way across Skyrim, then killed a dragon, and received a thousand souls in a single second. He continued to barely keep their lips connected, doubt of her going along just to help Lucia in his mind, but then he felt her tighten her grip around his neck and pull him forward.

Every detail of her was brought to the front of his mind, from her honor as a Nord, to the softness of her lips, which he had just discovered. His emotions for her grew faster than he could realize, as all his confusion and nervousness fled his mind. He pulled her as close as he could and returned her vigor in the kiss, trying to tell her of his love through the contact they held. For what seemed an eternity, he sat there, embracing her with his arms, lips, and love, before he remembered Lucia watching them. He broke away slowly, so as to prevent her from feeling as if he hadn't enjoyed it and backed up so that he was touching her forehead with his, then moved his mouth next to her ear and said in the best voice he could collect, "I love you Lydia."

A shiver flew down her spine and to the rest of her body, leaving her envelope in a feeling that felt warmer than a hearth's fire, and better than every great day of her life combine, and then washed down by a mug of Black-Briar mead with honey mixed in. She closed her eyes and soaked in the feeling of the embrace before she steadied her mind enough to say "I love you too Samuel." perhaps a little louder than she first intended. She realized this only as Lucia squealed in delight "YAY! It's just like my stories! You're in love now!"

Lucia ran up and tackled both of them as they opened their arms to include her in the embrace. She was happier at this moment than she had been when she was adopted off the street. Her mama and papa had fallen in love and kissed like in her stories, only she was there to see it, she didn't have to have one of them tell her and picture the people herself, she could see them herself everyday! Hugging her now-in-love mama and papa, she felt like there would never be a problem ever again, just because they were in love and loved her like she loved them.

"This is the bestest day ever! Mama and Papa were heroes, and then they fell in love, and I got to be here! I wonder if this will ever be a story like mine?" Her excitement was flowing out of her through her words, and it was for good reason, she had a new mama and papa, who loved her like her old mama and papa did, she missed them, but she was sure that her new mama and papa could lift her spirits. Maybe she could write a story herself about this moment, she was sure her mama and papa would help her, like they did with everything else.

The courtyard outside the temple of the divines was filled with people of multiple social classes, from a few Jarls, to famer friends. They were all sitting and watching the ceremony before them, where two souls would become one, forever bonded in loving matrimony. The focus of attention was two people who held hands and looked into each other's eyes, the Dragonborn and his housecarl. Behind them sat Jarl Elisif who had offered to wed the lovers here as a payment for their services to the safety of Skyrim and all of Nirn. In the seat next to her was a little girl, adopted daughter of the two, who was in a dress that made her look staggeringly beautiful, according to a young boy watching in the crowd, his attention stayed on the girl for a majority of the ceremony, until he heard two "I do's" and looked back at the couple who kissed for a long time. The crowd around him stood and applauded, so he copied them, but focused back on the girl who ran into the embrace that the parents invited, as they turned to the crowd, all he could focus on was the girl's smile.

_A/N: Two love stories in one? Whaaat? Sorry I wanted to include the last part to make way for another story focusing on the two kids, and their situation. Hope my edits made in the middle of writing this were thorough enough to cover some plot mistakes. The next part may be another chapter, or a whole new story. School started back recently so I've been busy with that, but I hope to get a schedule out that will allow me some time to write each night. See ya next time._


End file.
